Still upbeat after a tough break
Mary Stith spent some time early Friday morning praying at the St. Peter Church adoration chapel, but she could have used some divine intervention about 10 minutes later - when she was on the ground in serious pain.
Stith, the Geneva School Board president, broke her ankle after slipping on an icy patch of rock near the driveway at her home.
"You would have thought God would have cut me some slack," joked Stith, who tried to call her husband Herb, who was home, but wasn't hearing his cell phone. "I probably shouldn't have tried to get up, but I did and eventually just crawled in onto the kitchen floor."
Doctors have told her she'll need surgery on the ankle soon, but Stith is keeping her sense of humor and other things in perspective.
"Some people in TaxFacts may be happy to hear about this," Stith said with a laugh, referring to a group of Geneva residents unhappy with the school board's fiscal decisions. "But compared to some stuff going on in the world, this broken ankle is not such a big deal."
Luckily, no dancing: Ironically, months ago Mary and Herb Stith had been approached about participating in the upcoming "Dancing with the Geneva Stars" event, but Mary had suggested another couple might be a better choice.
"That turned out to be a good thing, considering what happened," Stith reasoned after the fall outside of her home resulted in the pending ankle surgery.
"Everyone was saying how we would be 'hilarious' in 'Dancing with the Stars,' and I thought, 'Oh, yeah, we'd really be hilarious,' " Mary said.
As president of the Geneva School Board, she used her powers of delegation by convincing board Vice President Tim Moran and his wife Barb to participate instead.
"They hadn't danced much either, but they will do fine," Stith added.
Or at least much better than someone with her foot in a cast.
No more tickets: Speaking of the "Dancing with the Geneva Stars" benefit Feb. 6 at Eagle Brook Country Club - it is sold out for the second straight year.
The sale of the allotted 350 tickets proves once again that this is one of the hottest tickets in town.
Regardless of whether you can attend, the couples still need votes. You can vote for your favorite couple and raise money for Geneva arts and schools until Feb. 5 on the genevarts.org Web site.
That was showbiz: Anyone fortunate enough to be in the sold-out Arcada Theater last Saturday night witnessed awesome duets when Dionne Warwick and her son, David Elliott, sang "I Say A Little Prayer" and "That's What Friends are For" as part of the terrific concert.
It was another reminder that the old theater continues to stage top-notch entertainment and we're all lucky it is still a St. Charles treasure.
For special friends: It's a wonderful gesture. And those involved with the Rising Star Theaterworks production of "Annie Jr." deserve thanks for making their final dress rehearsal at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Arcada Theater a free show to individuals with special needs and their families.
dheun@sbcglobal.net